[staff-physics-and-astronomy-HL-UHD-UD] Retreat P&A 2026: many thanks!

[Juan Rojo]

Dear all,

Many thanks again to all of your for your participation and contribution to the retreat. It was a pleasure to discuss with all the department our ambitions and ideas for the research strategy of the department.

We will now collect and process the feedback received and return to the staff with a proposal about the next steps after the summer break. Should you have additional feedback, feel free to reach out to the MT at all times. We may reach out to some of you in the next weeks to follow up and try to consolidate some of the proposals that have been shared these two days.

To conclude the week with yet another high note, let me point out that the government has just announced an structural investment of eur428M for scientific research:

https://www.universiteitenvannederland.nl/actueel/nieuws/kabinet-investeert-in-onderzoek-dat-nederland-vooruithelpt

https://www.scienceguide.nl/2026/06/kabinet-zet-428-miljoen-klaar-voor-wetenschap-maar-houdt-slag-om-de-arm/

including eur132M for new sectorplans and eur185m (!) for a new national supercomputer.

Have a great weekend, and hope to see many of you at the outing next Tuesday,

Best,

Juan & Laura & Oscar

-------------------------------------------------
Prof. Dr. Juan Rojo
Professor of Theoretical Physics
Head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy
Faculty of Science, VU Amsterdam
De Boelelaan 1081, 1081HV Amsterdam
----
Nikhef Theory Group, Science Park 105,
1098 XG Amsterdam, The Netherlands
----
Webpage: http://www.juanrojo.com/
Zoom: https://vu-live.zoom.us/my/juanrojo
E-mail: j.rojo at vu.nl
         j.rojo at nikhef.nl
-----------------------------------------------

On 25/06/2026 20:00, Juan Rojo wrote:
> Dear colleagues,
> 
> Sending this message by email since not everyone is staying overnight at Kaap Doorn.
> 
> As most of you know, KNWI has declared Code Red for tomorrow due to the very high temperatures expected. The official recommendation is not to leave home unless strictly necessary, and in particular schools are closed and there will be a reduction of public transport.
> 
> To account for this, we discussed and decided to adjust the schedule for tomorrow.
> 
> - We still start at 9am, and we will have 6 pitches
> 
> Machine Learning for Living Systems and Biophotonics (Gijs)
> Modern AI methods for Fundamental Physics (Juan)
> Machine learning for computational imaging (Lyuba)
> Broader PLS & biophotonics research including microscopy methods (Gijs)
> QMLA techniques for particle physics (Kjeld)
> Experimental physicist with focus on biophotonics, coherence, imaging and translational research (Johannes)
> 
> - Then we will have a short discussion in small groups and afterwards reconvene and share our impressions in a plenary session.
> 
> - The retreat will be *concluded at 12:00*. At this point people can choose whether to stay for lunch (or part of the afternoon for discussions) or just go home immediately. We will not be able to have all the discussions we wanted but we will then follow up at some other moment.
> 
> For those of you who cannot make it because of e.g. family constraints, we will do our best to provide an summary of the discussions at a later stage, for example at the next staff lunch. But be reassured that we understand and are mindful of the situation. Finally, should people experience issues with travel (e.g. OV) feel free to order a taxi/uber/carshare and then request the reimbursement.
> 
> Finally, please upload all the pitches in the Teams folder of the retreat so that colleagues who cannot make them can take a look.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Juan & Oscar & Laura
> 
> -------------------------------------------------
> Prof. Dr. Juan Rojo
> Professor of Theoretical Physics
> Head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy
> Faculty of Science, VU Amsterdam
> De Boelelaan 1081, 1081HV Amsterdam
> ----
> Nikhef Theory Group, Science Park 105,
> 1098 XG Amsterdam, The Netherlands
> ----
> Webpage: http://www.juanrojo.com/
> Zoom: https://vu-live.zoom.us/my/juanrojo
> E-mail: j.rojo at vu.nl
>          j.rojo at nikhef.nl
> -----------------------------------------------
> 
> On 23/06/2026 18:18, Juan Rojo wrote:
>> Dear all,
>>
>> Many thanks again for your input concerning the pitches!
>>
>> Please find attached the final schedule for the retreat, including the pitches that we have received. We have indicated the name of the submitter but in the case of group/section submissions it is of course fine if some other colleague gives the pitch.
>>
>> If there is any mistake in the reported pitches names/proponent (or we missed one pitch) please let us know and we will fix it.
>>
>> Let us also emphasise that the main goal of the retreat is to gather feedback / ideas / suggestions from the staff about our research priorities and ambitions, and that no decisions will be taken during these days.
>>
>> After we collect all this feedback (for which we will need some help from some colleagues to take notes during the discussions in small groups) and upon reflecting on it, the MT will get back to the staff (after the summer) with information about the next steps.
>>
>> Looking forward to lots of constructive and inspiring discussions!
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Juan & Laura & Oscar & Karin
>>
>> PD There is some flexibility in the schedule, specially on Friday, so we can be flexible and ensure that we have sufficient time for the discussions without any rush.
>>
>